Are Most Top-Level Leaders Narcissists?

Is Narcissism bad, good, or neutral?

We saw that narcissism is a part of the Dark Triad of personality traits, and it is definitely a problem in extremes. But when is narcissism not a problem?

Narcissism in leadership has been studied, and there is some evidence that narcissists succeed in attaining leadership positions. This makes sense, because they are confident, assertive, and focused on self-interests. They know what they want (to be the leader), they believe they are the best person for the job, and they have no doubt that they should be in charge. There is also a connection between narcissism and charisma.

Is this necessarily bad?

Like many individual differences, narcissism is “curvilinear.” What that means is that too little or too much is not good. Too little narcissism and the leader lacks the confidence (the “chutzpah”) to do what it takes to get elected or appointed. Too much narcissism and the leader runs the risk of going to the dark side — believing that the leader is better than others, above the law, etc.

Leadership expert Michael Maccoby33 talks about “productive narcissists” He argues that it takes a healthy dose of narcissism for leaders of nations or huge corporations to have great visions and achieve them. He argues that many of the revered leaders of the technological revolution, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Andy Grove, are productive narcissists, and many of the great leaders in history, Napoleon, Winston Churchill, are narcissists. Narcissism helps these leaders get remarkable things done, but it can also be their downfall.

Leaders who are too narcissistic are convinced they are right, too sensitive to criticism, and may ignore valid warnings. Because they lack empathy they are not sensitive to the impact of their behavior on others, and they may act out. Steve Jobs was known to berate and publicly humiliate subordinates. Moreover, leaders with too much narcissism begin to believe that they are above the law. The rules that govern others don’t apply to them, and they may engage in illegal or unethical behavior — and that is the downfall of many narcissistic leaders.

For Development: Make sure that narcissists don’t get out of control. Others can help keep narcissism in check by offering advice and keeping the narcissists “feet on the ground.” Remember, there is nothing wrong with being self-confident and acting in your own self-interests. It is the extreme forms of narcissistic, self-serving behavior that is the problem.